Fig. 1

French forest area split by forest management (a), ownership (b), and species composition (c) categories according to three ancient statistics (1892, 1908, and 1929) and national forest inventory data (2008), Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, and Moselle NUTS-3 units were excluded as these were not documented in the Daubrée statistics (German annexation), Corsican NUTS-3, and those surrounding Paris were considered as a single unit. Data about tree species composition do not exist in 1892 and 1929 statistics